Vestments

Hailed by Publishers Weekly as a Best Book of 2010, Vestments is the bracing tale of a young man caught between faith, family, and his love for a woman from the past.

Let me begin today, illumined by Thy light, to destroy this part of the natural man which lives in me in its entirety, the obstacle that constantly keeps me from Thy love. James Dressler recites this prayer, taught to him as a boy, when he’s tempted by earthly desires. But intimacy is not easily denied. Originally drawn to the priesthood by the mystery, purity, and sensual fabric of the Catholic Church, as well as by its promise of a safe harbor from his violent father, James finds himself—just a few years after his ordination—attracted again to his first love, Betty García. Torn between these competing loves, and haunted by his father’s heritage, James finds himself at a crossroads.

Exploring age-old and yet urgently contemporary issues in the Church, and infused throughout by a rich sense of the history and vibrant texture of Saint Paul, Vestments is an utterly honest and subtly lyrical novel.